• Publisher: National Geographic (March 2, 2021)
• Hardcover: 312 Pages
In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk
book, uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world’s most
important philosophical questions about the universe with wit, wisdom,
and cutting-edge science.
For science geeks, space and physics nerds, and all who want to
understand their place in the universe, this enlightening new book from
Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and
curiosities of the cosmos, building on rich material from his beloved
StarTalk podcast.
In these illuminating pages, illustrated with dazzling photos and
revealing graphics, Tyson and co-author James Trefil, a renowned
physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that
humanity has been posing for millennia–How did life begin? What is our
place in the universe? Are we alone?–and provide answers based on the
most current data, observations, and theories.
Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the
building blocks of astrophysics, this relatable and entertaining book
will engage and inspire readers of all ages, bring sophisticated
concepts within reach, and offer a window into the complexities of the
cosmos.
For all who loved National Geographic’s StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, and Space Atlas, this new book will take them on more journeys into the wonders of the universe and beyond.
Purchase Links
About Neil deGrasse Tyson
Legendary astrophysicist NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON is the host of the
popular podcast StarTalk Radio and Emmy award-winning National
Geographic Channel shows StarTalk and Cosmos. He earned
his BA in physics from Harvard and his Ph.D. in astrophysics from
Columbia. The author of more than a dozen books, including the
best-selling Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Tyson is the
first Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium. He lives in
New York City with his wife and two children.
Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.
REVIEW:
My
husband and I are huge, and I mean HUGE science nerds. If there is a
science related documentary, we watch it. If there is a science fiction
movie, series, special, book, you name it, we have probably watched it
and read it.
We just love anything space related.
Watching Neil DeGrasse Tyson is something we became accustomed to. Cosmos was one of our favorites to watch.
When
I was given the opportunity to review his latest book, Cosmic Queries, I
immediately jumped at it. I could hardly wait for it to arrive, and
when it did, I grabbed it out of the box and immediately showed my
husband. He stared at it (had no clue I was receiving it for review),
and made a comment about how cool and how he couldn't wait to read it
too.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.
𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺
- 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘯
This
quote had me laughing so hard. My kids thought I was crazy, but my
husband got a good laugh out of it too. I guess that's humor for nerds
like us.
Neil
DeGrasse Tyson is a very well known astrophysicist, and he has
delighted audiences with his knowledge of the universe, how it was made,
how it exists and everything and anything related to black holes and
stars, galaxies and nebulas, so forth, and so forth.
In
Cosmic Queries we are privy to a one on one lesson with Neil, the book
is stunning in an of itself, beautiful photography, and some very
interesting topics.
He
tackles the tough questions that so many of us have had. Or maybe it's
just me and my nerdy family. But I have stopped many times to think
about our life on planet earth and wondered what would happen if the
gravity pull were altered by a mere second?
What if another planet hurled into ours?
How old is the universe? How will it all end?
Albeit
scary to even imagine, he gives us a pretty detailed explanation of how
it all will come to a halt. Reading through his description of the
Sun's trajectory, it's life, what is going to happen to it.
In
five-billion years, as the Sun beings to die, it's outer layers of
glowing plasma will expand stupendously, engulfing the orbits of
Mercury, then Venus, as the charred ember that was once the oasis of the
life called Earth vaporizes into the vacuum of space.
If
that is not a scary thought, I don't know what is. But it is something
that physicists have looked into and studied for many years.
If
we stop and really think about the planet we live in, where it is
situated in space, what is around us, and how absolutely amazing God is
to keep it all moving and rotating in precise ways, we can be amazed.
The other side of that is realizing that one little shift can throw it
all into chaos.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson breaks the book into categories, namely:
What is our place in the universe?
How do we know what we know?
How did the universe get to be this way?
How old is the universe?
What is the universe made of me?
What is life?
Are we alone in the universe?
How did it all begin?
How will it all end?
What does nothing have to do with everything?
This
book is amazing, and I honestly believe that everyone and anyone who is
even slightly curious about space and our universe, needs to have this
one in their library.
I
had a lot of questions answered within the pages of this book, but many
more remain to be answered, not because Neil DeGrasse Tyson forgot to
mention things, but merely because as he likes to remind us,
many questions about our own humble universe, remain to be answered.
That's not really a bad thing, because it pushes us to keep asking, to keep looking up to the stars, and to keep searching.
The book also contains many of his twitter posts, with tidbits here and there and fun facts from our universe.
And.....I got to learn about Tardigrades.
Do you know what a Tardigrade is? Let me show you.
They
are also known as water bears. I had never heard of them, where they
lived or what they did. In the book, I learned that they tolerate
extreme conditions. They can live in frozen polar lakes, boiling hot
deep-sea vents and can even survive high doses of radiation.
They can survive without water for decades. Just think about that. By the way, they are microscopic. Wow!
Cosmic
Queries is so well written and so filled with information, that you'll
spend hours just completely immersed within it's pages.
5/5 stars
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